Starting to think open face fireplaces ARE USELESS

Air movement is the key with an insert, and also with a stove too.

If an insert room is too warm, turn down the blower on the insert, and or get air movement going. For me. I turn on the central heating fan only and that gets basement air around the house.

 

My parents insert doesn't have a blower. And they do constantly run the HVAC fan when it's running, and have small fans in all the doorways but even with their open floor plan it gets pretty hot in the house. But they seem to like that type of heat in the winter, they act like they're in their 80's even though they just turned 60.

 

Maybe you should explain to them about moving cold air to the stove room and even it out the heat throughout the house

 

Oh, well I guess they already do that, I like 75 myself, 80s not that bad either and I'm 63 I have always liked it warmer than some people 65 in the house is way too cold for me 72 and up

 

Take the locust and high btu stuff away from them then. .

Nothing better than cherry and maybe they'll not cook everyone out?

 

72 is my limit for heat in the house. Higher than that and I'm in shorts, and that's it.

 

I have an open fireplace too. It's your typical steel and fire brick box built in to the wall. Horrible for heating, but fun to watch and snuggle up by. I've been burnt up a lot of good wood in the past 5 years since we moved in here. A wood stove or an efficient sealed fireplace like the RSF Delta or Opel is on my list of improvements to make. I'd like a wood stove.. she insists that they're ugly and wants something built into the wall...

The actual purchase of it keeps getting pushed back because of other wants. A couple of years ago it was a sub-compact utility tractor... This last summer I bought us a convertible because Nancy's days of riding on motorcycles are over.... I really hope to upgrade my wood burning situation this next year. Meanwhile, the oak and maple keeps accumulating and drying!

 

Yes, open fireplaces are more than 100% inefficient. Besides not providing any heat they suck the rest out of your house.

For a short while we had one of those open fireplace wraparound C-tube grates that tried to suck in air low and blow it out beyond the fireplace from the top. We as kids of course made newspaper 'cigars' that we smoldered in front of them to see where the smoke went and were amazed to see it U-turn at the top of the tubes and go back up the chimney.

 

I use the fan on my HVAC system and it keeps the whole house about even. We have a soapstone stove which puts out a steady even heat so we do not get cooked out. I am able to get the room to 80 if I really work it, but most often it keeps it just right and holds the heat to morning.

 

I have an open fireplace and it gets the room heated fine. No negative efficiency, that is just ridiculous to think.I would rather have the ambience than just heat.Best of both worlds. I use more wood yes, but I can just get more wood anywhere.People cannot give wood away quick enough around here.

 

I thought the same until I got an efficient insert last year.

I have to say that my wife was diametrically opposed to putting an insert in her beloved open fireplace. i had to find the biggest glass stove I could find. I stumbled across a bay window quadrafire 4100i on CL and scooped it up.

Fast forward a year, and she loves the stove insert. She's even able to keep it pumping out heat while I'm away. It gives off great heat, has awesome light shows with the ghost flames, and wood actually last more than an hour. I burn the same amount of wood a year, but keep the entire house warm with that same 2.5-3 cords a year.

 

My girl has been against it also all becuz she likes the sight of the flame but once I showed her stoves with big glass windows she's all for it


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Just read through the whole thread... was very interested to see that other refer to an open fireplace fire as and "ambiance" fire. That's what we called fires on our open fireplace before we installed our insert. Insert went in when heating oil hit $4.00 / gallon. We've not purchased any oil in three years, and still have about 3/4 tank.'

Our Enviro has a nice big window, and we can still get nice ambiance through the glass. Plus, part of the ambiance is FREE HEAT!

 

For cooking meat?

 

We call that a grill. Lol